Pori And LN Reach Uneasy Truce

Tom Jones’ appearance at Pori Jazz sort of settled the festival’s two-year squabble with Live Nation, although the famous Finnish fest still feels it got the thin end of the wedge.

When Jones appeared in front of 15,000 people at Pori’s Kirjurinluoto Arena July 14 it should have ended the fuss over his non-appearance at the 2009 gathering, but there’s a feeling among festival organisers that they still deserved better treatment.

In 2009 Pori claimed Jones pulled out of a headline slot Live Nation had confirmed, but Live Nation denied the show was ever confirmed.
In the autumn of that year, Jones returned to Finland to play in front of what was reported to be 3,500 people at a Live Nation show at Helsinki’s 9,000-capacity Hartwall Arena.

Jyrki Kangas, who was senior booker at Pori in 2009, said the festival may ask for as much as $1 million in compensation but it appears to have settled for LN waiving whatever commission it would have earned for the 2011 show.

Ticket sales for the world-famous jazz bash went past the 57,000 break-even point, although at press time the festival couldn’t confirm how far past.

The other acts wrapping an unfortunate phase in Pori’s history July 9-17 included Ricky Martin, Elton John, Seasick Steve and Black Dub featuring Daniel Lanois.